Rabbit baiting program begins in ACT

This year's large-scale rabbit baiting program will include parks and reserves across Canberra.

ABC News

A rabbit baiting program has begun across parks and reserves in the ACT.

The program will target Acton Peninsula from next week, with help from the Australian National University, CSIRO and the National Botanic Gardens.

Volunteers have spent more than a thousand hours mapping rabbit warrens to help improve control methods.

ACT Parks and Conservation Service director Daniel Iglesias says the baiting program is important to reduce environmental damage.

"Rabbits are a serious environmental pest and regular control programs are vital to prevent overgrazing which results in loss of vegetation and threatens native wildlife," Mr Iglesias said.

"Rabbits contribute to eating down the ground layer vegetation so it no longer provides food and shelter for various other species such as reptiles and ground feeding birds.

"I've seen areas in and around Canberra, and in other places that have been completely denuded of all vegetation, and what that causes is a knock on effect."

Mr Iglesias says this year's large-scale baiting program will include reserves on the north and south of Canberra.

"We understand that we are never going to eradicate them," he said.

"Its about controlling them, so we focus on those areas where they are causing the most damage and where they are the biggest threat to the natural environment."

He says the ongoing baiting program has helped reduce the rabbit damage.

"What we have found is that in areas such as Mount Ainslie and Mount Majura and even some of the areas on the southside as well, where we have had this investment over a number of years the numbers are starting to drop," Mr Iglesias said.

"We're starting to control the rabbit numbers and the vegetation is coming back."

The Government has allocated $150,000 to control rabbit populations in nature reserves in 2012-13.